Jan 31st 2002
From The Economist print edition
A congressional investigation into the collapse of Enron was refused access to records of meetings last year between the failed energy trader and a taskforce charged with formulating America's energy policy, headed by Dick Cheney. America's vice-president spoke of protecting privacy, but of the government or Enron? Congress said that it would take legal action.
See article: Dick Cheney's Enron papers
Tyco's shares fell 20%
after the American conglomerate announced plans to split into five parts to
realise its true worth—50% higher than its share price indicated, according to
Tyco. Scepticism about the firm's accounting practices in particular and
American accounting standards in general was suggested as the reason for the
fall.
See article:
Enron and stockmarket jitters
America's regulators ensured that a joint venture between British Airways and American Airlines did not get off the tarmac by demanding that the airlines give up 224 landing slots at Heathrow airport as the price for a deal. Britain's government pulled out of talks on a bilateral “OPEN-SKIES” treaty with America to liberalise transatlantic traffic. American acquiescence to the BA-AA deal had been its price.
See article:
BA's deal with American is blocked
Global Crossing, a long-distance telecoms carrier once valued at some $50 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, which invested heavily in infrastructure during the Internet boom, has lately suffered from a slump in demand for bandwidth.
See article: Global Crossing: an American parable
The courtship of Micron, an American rival, by Hynix, a South Korean chip maker, turned cool. Hynix rebuffed Micron's offer of $3.1 billion in shares—it wants around $1 billion more. Micron may yet improve its offer.
Xerox, an American office-equipment maker that has struggled for some years, gave investors a surprise by announcing that it had made an operating profit in the fourth quarter of $108m. It also predicted a profit for 2002. The benefits of a radical restructure last year may be beginning to show.
Motorola and Nokia sued Turkey's Uzan family, owner of the country's second-largest mobile operator, Telsim, for over $3 billion in debt repayments. Bringing the case in a New York court, the mobile-phone giants allege 13 counts of illegal activity, mainly suggesting that their money was diverted to other firms owned by the Uzan family.
See article:
Nokia and Motorola sue Telsim
Lou Gerstner, the chief executive who revived the fortunes of IBM by selling businesses not just computers but “SOLUTIONS”, said that he would step aside at the end of February but remain chairman until the end of the year. He will be replaced by Samuel Palmisano, the company's president and chief operating officer.
See article: Sam Palmisano, IBM's new boss
Kirch, a cash-strapped German media company, faced further trouble after Axel Springer exercised a put option forcing Kirch to pay euro767m ($661m) for the publisher's 11.5% stake in ProSiebenSAT.1, a broadcasting concern in which Kirch already owns a 53% stake. Kirch had been negotiating to delay the option.
P&O Princess's hope of a merger with Royal Caribbean Cruises foundered after Britain's government referred the deal to competition watchdogs. Carnival Corporation, the world's biggest cruise company, did its bit to sink the merger by reiterating its hostile offer for P&O of £3.6 billion ($5.1 billion) and dropping some conditions, but still subject to regulatory approval.
Merck, an American drug company, announced plans to sell Medco, an intermediary between Merck and managed-care companies, probably beginning with an initial public offering of up to 20% of the company that could raise some $3 billion.
Taking many by surprise,
America's economy grew in the fourth quarter; GDP
rose by 0.2% in the three months to December at an annual rate. Heavy
spending by consumers and indeed government helped America's economy avoid
contracting for a second consecutive quarter.
See article:
The economy does better
Leading politicians, businessmen and other luminaries gathered in New York for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. The get-together, usually held in Davos, a remote Swiss ski resort, was relocated after the September 11th attacks as a sign of solidarity with New York.
NSP Lista isprobava demokratiju u praksi
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